Willy Wizard takes on Harry Potter in U.S. court

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The battle between Willy the Wizard and Harry Potter has moved to U.S. shores.

The estate of Adrian Jacobs, who authored the 1987 book “The Adventures of Willy the Wizard,” has filed a lawsuit in New York district court against Scholastic Inc., publisher of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” The lawsuit claims that J.K. Rowling misappropriated copyrighted elements from Jacobs’ book.

The estate filed a similar lawsuit last year in England against Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, the UK publisher of the Harry Potter franchise.

Jacobs estate trustee Paul Allen said in a statement the estate is contemplating legal action in key territories worldwide and the “USA being the world’s largest market for Potter books means that our first overseas action is brought here in America.”

The plaintiff is seeking an injunction against further sale of the “Goblet” book, destruction of remaining inventory of the books, and profits from lucrative sales.